


A Bedtime Story

by Mountainside_possum



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Adopted Children, Bedtime Stories, Difficult Decisions, Domestic Fluff, Love, Loving Marriage, M/M, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:07:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28659942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mountainside_possum/pseuds/Mountainside_possum
Summary: Alexsandr and Zeb talk to their adoptive son about how they met.
Relationships: Alexsandr Kallus/Garazeb "Zeb" Orrelios
Comments: 14
Kudos: 57





	A Bedtime Story

Life on Lira San was quiet, not exactly what Kallus was used to in any means. When Zeb proposed adoption, at first he’d been extremely hesitant. Was he calm enough to raise children, especially children outside of his own race? It had taken months of carefully, calculating conversation between them for Alexsandr to finally agree to adopting a lasat kit. And he had never regretted it. 

Their boy, Nemiru, was a shining star in the household. While his fathers were hardened warriors, the kit had never seen or known war. He’d been born on Lira San around the time of the Battle of Endor, and lived at an orphanage till he was discovered by Kallus and Zeb. Just old enough to dream, to speak, to wonder. 

And tonight, like every night before, the boy had asteroid fields worth of questions. His fathers answered with grace, occasionally tripping up but doing their best to provide him a legitimate answer. 

“Papa, Dada?” Papa meant Kallus, they’d slowly been able to pick out who exactly the boy was taking to by how he addressed them. It had not been easy by any means, no, but Alexsandr found the names to be incredibly adorable. 

“Yes, Miru?” Usually, Kallus simplified their son’s name down just to Miru. It was easier, and more affectionate. Tonight, Miru’s questions had been focused on the stars so Kallus assumed that must be what was going to come next. Carefully, he pulled the sheets onto their son with a gentle smile. 

“How did you and dada meet?” The question stunned Alexsandr and seemingly Zeb, by how Kallus could see Zeb’s shoulders awkwardly shift. It was an incredibly loaded question, where even to begin?

“Um.” Alexsandr searched for the words for a moment, if he told Miru the full story then he would have to mention the Empire. He’d never explained the Empire to their son, he wanted him to stay innocent, to not know the horrors of the war. Alexsandr hoped Zeb had done the same. 

“Me and Papa were in a fight”, Zeb began to explain “at the time I didn’t like Papa very much, and he didn’t like me.” The lasats eyes quickly flashed over to his husband, showing nervousness and slight worry. It gave Alexsandr some relief to know he wasn’t the only one concerned about this conversation. “And we ended up on an...a moon.” 

“Why were you fighting?” Miru seemed confused, snuggling into his bed and starting to get comfortable. The boy loved stories, as Alexsandr had discovered. Someday he’d tell him, he’d tell him stories about the war. He’d tell him how they truly met, but now wasn’t that day. 

“We...didn’t think the same back then, Miru. I...We didn’t like each other, I had been very mean to your father’s family.”  _ How do you make genocide child friendly? You can’t. _ Alexsandr thought. Carefully, he ran a hand between their son’s ears, just petting the fur there as he spoke. How many children just like Miru had he ended with the disruptors? His soldiers would have never used them had he not followed the command. His face fell, his throat tightening around his words. 

“Oh, like when I’m mean to uncle Chopper because he’s a jerk?” 

_ Such an innocent view of the galaxy.  _

“Yea kiddo, like you and uncle chop.” Zeb rested a hand on Alexsandr’s shoulder, speaking where he could not. “We eventually ended up on this moon, and had to work together. Yer papa told me about how there were people who’d been...uh...mean to him, and we figured out we weren’t too different.” 

Alexsandr sadly smiled, looking over at Zeb as he spoke.  _ Is that how you saw that? Oh Zeb…  _ “Yes, exactly. Then I began to help your dada and his friends, they were trying to drive away bad people.” 

“What bad people?” Miru asked innocently. 

Both of them audibly took in a deep breath, Zeb’s hand tightening around Alexsandr’s shoulder. “Miru…” Alexsandr felt like it was his responsibility to explain, after all he’d been one of the ‘bad people’ but before he got a chance Zeb began to speak. 

“Kiddo, before ya’ were born there was a group of bad people called the Empire...they did some really _ really  _ bad stuff. Your papa’s friends were Imperials, and he got pulled into their...club.” Alexsandr could tell talking about Imperials in this sense hurt Zeb, yet he couldn’t figure out a more innocent way to explain this concept. “But he helped us get away from them alot, and he helped me more times than I can count.” 

“Your dada also helped me, it was very hard to get away from those old...friends.”  _ Zeb, you truly cared about me then?  _ A smile tugged at Alexsandr’s heart, his head gently resting against Zeb’s shoulder. 

“Wow…” Miru’s face was filled with wonder, clearly happy to be hearing about how his fathers had met. “What was the moon like?” 

“Cold.” Alexsandr chuckled, “Very cold, but we helped each other. It...wasn’t as bad as it could have been without your dada being there.” 

Miru smiled, gently batting his eyes as he began to fall into sleep. “I love you papa...I love you dada…” 

“We love you too.” Alexsandr carefully tucked their son in, standing up before he left. After a few minutes, Zeb joined him in the hallway. “I...had no idea you had those feelings back on Bahryn.”  _ I have no idea you loved me back then.  _

“Yea’, neither did I.” Zeb seemed to be overall pleased with how that conversion had gone. 

“Thank you for jumping in back there, I had no idea how...I didn’t know how to describe the Empire. He’s too young to know about those things…” Alexsandr crossed his arms, softly sighing. 

“It’s gonna be hard, y’know.” Zeb lovingly wrapped his arms around Alexsandr’s waist, holding him close. His voice low and comforting. 

“I’m well aware...I just didn’t know…” 

“You didn’t know he’d ask so soon?” 

“Yes, I don’t want him knowing about the Empire. There’s so much sadness he doesn’t know about yet, he’s too young.” 

“Ok, Ok, but we’re gonna have to tell him sometime.” 

Alexsandr didn’t feel the need to answer verbally, instead he just leaned into his husband's hold. The warm Lira San night was perfect for their shared, loving moment. The sounds of the night time insects made an organic symphony, a background for their embrace. After moments of relaxation, Alexsandr finally did reply. 

“I love you.” 

“I love ya’ too, Alex. Don’t worry, we’ll figure this out.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank You to the anon who suggested this on my Tumblr! 
> 
> Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, and May The Force Be With You! 
> 
> Follow Me!   
> Twitter: @imperialsimp  
> Tumblr: mountainsidepossum


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